Michael R. Cannon
1953–

Career: Boeing Company, 1974–1983, engineer, manager; Control Data
Corporation/Imprimis Technology, 1983–1993, senior management in
technology-components and disk-drive operations, then vice president of
Far East operations; IBM, 1993–1996, vice president of worldwide
operations, then vice president of mobile and desktop business unit, then
vice president of product design; Maxtor Corporation, 1996–2003,
CEO and president; Solectron Corporation, 2003–, CEO and president.

■ In January 2003 Michael Cannon was named president and chief
executive officer of Solectron Corporation, the electronics-manufacturing
and supply-chain services provider, bringing with him over 25 years of
manufacturing and operations experience. As president and CEO of Maxtor
Corporation he had turned around flagging revenues and built the company
into an industry leader. Analysts and colleagues alike expressed
confidence in Cannon's leadership abilities and strategic skills,
with which he would enhance Solectron's market share and
profitability.

BUILDING EXPERIENCE IN THE DATA-STORAGE INDUSTRY

After earning a degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan State
University, Cannon was hired by Boeing Company, where he worked as an
engineer and eventually as a manager in the manufacturing research and
development group. After nine years with Boeing, Cannon began his career
in the data-storage industry when he was hired by Control Data Corporation
(CDC). Cannon spent the next 10 years with CDC and its spin-off Imprimis
Technology in a number of senior management positions, gaining exposure to
the technology-components and disk-drive operations areas. He also logged
relevant experience in Asian manufacturing, spending four years in
Singapore as vice president of Far East operations.

In 1993 Cannon joined IBM's Storage Systems Division and over the
next three years held various senior management positions, including vice
president of worldwide manufacturing, vice president of the Personal
Storage Systems Division, and vice president of product design. His work
again took him to the Far East, where he established manufacturing sites
in Singapore, Thailand, and China, as well as in Hungary. Cannon left a
positive mark on IBM's hard-drive business, returning the
struggling unit to profitability.

TURNAROUND AT MAXTOR

Cannon was brought on as Maxtor's president and chief executive
officer in July 1996. In
VARbusiness
he said of his decision to take the helm of the troubled company, which
had been unprofitable for several years, "I was attracted to the
turnaround situation and saw tremendous growth opportunity for the
company" (January 19, 1998). Cannon planned to cut costs, introduce
efficiencies in manufacturing operations, focus on higher-profit desktop
drives, and more quickly bring products to the marketplace. He expected
employees to consider themselves accountable for the company's
performance. Mark Geenan, the president of the consulting company Trend
Focus, said of Cannon in
VARbusiness
, "He pushes people to be on schedule, and everything in the
company has sped up. Cannon peeled away businesses that didn't make
sense and returned to core competencies" (January 19, 1998).

During Cannon's tenure Maxtor made dramatic improvements in spite
of a general downturn in the industry. The company's revenues
increased significantly, and its base of businesses became more
diversified by virtue of internal growth and acquisitions. In 2001 Cannon
arranged a merger between Maxtor and the disk-drive maker Quantum
Corporation, creating the world's largest disk-drive company in a
deal worth an estimated $2.3 billion.

TAKING THE HELM AT SOLECTRON

In 2003 Cannon replaced Koichi Nishimura as Solectron's president
and CEO. From the outset he faced challenging issues: a slump in the
electronics manufacturing services industry in the early 2000s had had a
serious impact on the company, which suffered several consecutive years of
losses. Early on Cannon laid out his recovery plans, which included
streamlining operations, cutting expenses, and exploring alternate revenue
opportunities.

Financial analysts were generally pleased with Cannon's
appointment, describing his candor about the company's financial
and organizational problems as refreshing. John Mc-Manus, the analyst at
Needham & Company, told
EBN
, "he recognizes what he has to do, which is the good news"
(May 5, 2003). The IDC analyst Kevin Kane remarked in
EBN
, "Cannon has experience in manufacturing operations, specifically
in a low-margin, highly competitive business that can't afford
inefficiency" (January 13, 2003). Colleagues soon appreciated the
assertive actions that Cannon took in order to meet his goals for the
company as well as his open line of communication with Solectron clients
and employees around the world.

William Hasler, Solectron's chairman of the board, had only
positive things to say about Cannon to America's Intelligence Wire.
Hasler referred to him as "an individual who truly knows technology
and manufacturing. Mike has broad manufacturing and operations experience
and has demonstrated a deep-rooted customer-service mindset. Mike has
firsthand knowledge of both the challenges and opportunities that
Solectron faces, and he is a seasoned and successful veteran of the
hard-disk-drive business." Regarding Cannon's management
style, Hasler said, "We are confident that Mike possesses the
strategic skills and leadership abilities needed to accelerate
Solectron's business and complete the company's return to
industry-leading profitability and drive the business through a new phase
of growth and development. He is a dynamic leader. Mike has the personal
force to build on the great things Ko Nishimura has done for the company
and make his own mark" (January 7, 2003).

In Cannon's first year with the company, Solectron was the
recipient of numerous accolades, including Teradata's Supplier
Excellence Award, Cisco System's Transformation and Integration
Supplier of the Year, Brocade's Supplier of the Year Award for
Customer Focus, and Sun Microsystem's Meritorious Supplier
Performance Award for Electronics Manufacturing. Solectron closed its
third quarter of fiscal 2004 with sales of $3.04 billion, up 29 percent
from the prior year.

In addition to serving on Solectron's board of directors and
remaining on the board at Maxtor, Cannon was a director for the Silicon
Valley Manufacturing Group and Adobe Systems.

See also
entries on Maxtor Corporation and Solectron Corporation in
International Directory of Company Histories
.